Karl Mayer has issued a statement this morning confirming that the Stoll flat knitting machine production site in Reutlingen, Germany will close at the end of this month as announced earlier this year.

The statement reads: “At the beginning of this year, Karl Mayer announced that it would be shifting its focus back to its core areas of warp knitting, warp preparation and technical textiles. As part of that strategic realignment, the flat knitting machine business under the Stoll brand is to be discontinued. The Reutlingen plant will close down on 31 October 2025. Production in China will end in December 2025. This was an extremely difficult decision for Karl Mayer.”

“Stoll stands for a long tradition. That is precisely why we deeply regret that we were unable to lead the business into the future successfully. It was not possible to find an investor to continue production at the main site in Reutlingen with its 280 employees,” said Oliver Mathews, President of the Stoll Business Unit.

The statement continues: “Karl Mayer remains committed to its long-standing customers and will continue to service the installed machine base even under the given circumstances. A service concept for spare parts and support is currently being implemented at various locations. Contacts at www.stoll.com.

Spare parts will be stored in two warehouses in future. Karl Mayer’s central warehouse in Obertshausen will take over the stocks from Reutlingen in November and handle all logistics services up to dispatch. In addition, Karl Mayer China will be the sole central warehouse location serving the global demand for parts for BMS machines.

Final updates are available for the pattern software. Software licence keys remain available for purchase, and existing installations can still be used.”

Karl Mayer’s statement does not mention what, if anything, will become of the Stoll brand. Some industry commentators still believe that the Stoll brand will end up, in Chinese hands, and that one of the larger flat knitting machine builders could build Stoll brand machines in China in the future.

In June this year we reported that there was interest in the Stoll business from a number of parties ( see - Clock ticks for Stoll as multiple investors circle), however no news of a deal being reached emerged.

www.stoll.com

www.karlmayer.com